​BIOGRAPHY

I am Professor of Anthropology, Global Studies, and Music at Bryant University in the United States. My research focuses on music and the creative arts in Africa, Europe, and the United States. I am particularly interested in the intersections of law and the arts, such as the creation and enforcement of intellectual property rights throughout much of the contemporary world. 

In 2018 I released a two CD set of 1950s recordings from eastern and central Africa. The collection includes 47 songs of both amateur and professional artists, and an 82-page booklet on the history and politics of the region.  You can learn more about the collection by clicking here. 

​In 2015-2016, I received a Fulbright Scholar Award to live and conduct research in London as part of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. He was also named a Centenary Scholar at SOAS.
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In addition to my recent articles and reviews, which you can find under Publications, I published two books on African music economies and am currently working on a new manuscript titled, These Rights Are Ours: Ownership, Property, and Law in African Music. The project is being completed in conjunction with a five-year fellowship that I received from the Framing the Global project. Framing the Global is a partnership between Indiana University's Center for the Study of Global Change and Indiana University Press, and it is being funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
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I received my Ph.D. from Indiana University, Bloomington in 2003.